Page 53 of The CEO's Christmas Wife

The girl was in love with me. And while that was beautiful, it was also scary. I didn’t know what to do with that shit. A woman’s heart was fragile and to be treated as such. It was why I never allowed myself to become involved with women beyond fucking.

I never wanted to hurt anyone, but Kandi and I had taken a different path. She didn’t deserve to be treated like the others. The women in my past only wanted to be fucked or were lookingfor a payday. I could give them the first, but I wasn’t about the other.

Kandi wasn’t about either of those, yet I didn’t know how to love a woman, and that was the part that terrified me. She worked for me, and if she got hurt or disappointed because I was damaged goods, I would have a mess on my hands. Not to mention, I didn’t want to see her hurt, and I didn’t want to be responsible for damaging another person. I knew how that shit felt.

“Kayn, this is my sister, Holly, and her boyfriend, Chris. This is my brother, Nicky, and his girlfriend, Nicolette. And these are my parents, Christina and Nick Jolly. Family, this is my boss, Mr. Kayn,” she introduced as I stepped into their dining room.

Kandi had met me at the front door and took me straight to wash my hands before ushering me to their dining room. My stomach grumbled at the aroma of the home-cooked meal. I had a personal chef who prepared my meals most of the time, but it wasn’t the same as a meal cooked with love.

“I hope that I’m not intruding on personal family time.”

“Not at all. When Kandi said her boss was coming over, I had to meet the man who kept our baby away from her family,” her mother stated with a warm, teasing tone.

“My apologies. That quickly got out of my control. Our business was delayed, but we got everything back in order. Contracts were signed, and we lived to fight another day,” I declared.

“That’s great. Welcome to our home,” her father stated.

“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you all,” I stated after I shook hands with the men and received hugs from the women.

“I wasn’t sure what you all liked, but I brought these,” I stated, holding up my gifts.

I held a bouquet of roses for her mother, a bottle of bourbon for her father, and a box of butterscotch toffee cookies foreveryone else. Her mother’s eyes lit up with delight, and her father smiled like he’d just won the lottery. But it was Kandi who did me in. She beamed at me with pride.

“I think I like you already. I was going to give you the blues about keeping our baby away from us for the holidays and her birthday, but?—”

“Mama! You’re just going to sell me out for a bouquet?” Kandi asked in disbelief.

I chuckled along with everyone else when her mama shrugged and replied. “Everyone has a price, baby. Merry Christmas, Mr. Kayn.”

“It’s Emmanuel. That will be fine.”

“Emmanuel. Like in the Bible. God with us,” her mother stated softly with a beatific smile that touched and warmed my heart.

I smiled awkwardly and then took my seat. Her father prayed over the meal before everyone began to eat.”

“I thought my sister called you Kayn,” Nicky spoke up.

I glanced at Kandi, and she dipped her head, suddenly becoming extremely busy with her macaroni and cheese.

I shrugged. “I think it was a slip of the tongue. All my employees call me Mr. Kayn.”

I didn’t want anyone else calling me Kayn except for Kandi. It only sounded right on her lips, especially when she moaned it whenever I was buried deep inside of her. Everyone else simply referred to me as Mr. Kayn, and somehow, it had a different feeling.

Everyone around the table took turns asking questions about my business, my family, our holiday traditions, and our recent trip back to Mistletoe Falls. The name of my hometown brought other questions as the women became infatuated with the name and the way that Kandi described it.

Her family was welcoming and warm, much like mine had been, and I grew comfortable around them. I wondered what it might be like to be a part of a family like this, where everyone was happy, positive, and supportive like Kandi. I quickly grew to understand why her personality was the way that it was. Growing up in a family full of people who weren’t afraid to show love, express their feelings, and support one another through whatever arose had to be uplifting.

As much as my family had tried, I hadn’t allowed them to because I had been hurting inside.

I needed to be here this evening. Although I had resisted the idea initially, I wanted to be with Kandi. I now knew that wherever she was, I wanted to be. But it was a scary feeling because I knew that I was in over my head with my feelings for this girl.

If she hurt me and things didn’t work out, I wasn’t sure how I would handle it, especially having to see her every day. I couldn’t fire her because she was excellent at what she did.

Before she called, I had been sitting at home thinking about my feelings for her. Even watching her with her family, my heart knew that it belonged to her. But damn, wasn’t it too soon to be talking about love? We didn’t know each other that well. But what else could it be?

Shit, I was ready to give it all up for her, including the women I’d called on in the past. I was ready to tear it all down if another nigga even looked at her.

“Our annual New Year’s Eve party is right around the corner. One week from today. Is everyone ready?” her father asked.

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